i-SOBOT: the smallest humanoid robot in production

October 31, 2007 TOMY Toy Corporation's i-SOBOT, has been certified as the “smallest humanoid robot in production” by Guinness World Records. Despite its diminutive 6.5 inches stature, the fully articulating and bipedal robot is endowed with 17 custom developed servo-motors, 19 integrated circuit chips, a built in gyro-sensor, 2 LEDs and a voice command recognition chip that can recognize 10 voice commands. i-SOBOT, which has just hit shelves in the US, can also speak over 200 words and phrases, features hundreds of preprogrammed actions including walking, dancing, martial arts, pushups, soccer - even air guitar, plus over 90 kinds of sound effects and the ability to play five songs.

The inbuilt gyro sensor gives i-SOBOT the balance required for the hundreds of complex poses and movements such as true bipedal walking action, which includes smooth eight-directional movement as well as dancing, lying down and getting up again, somersaults and martial arts actions. Eighty action sequences per memory can be programmed with three memories available to give a total of 240 actions.

i-SOBOT also features four modes of operation: Special Action Mode, Program Mode, Voice Control Mode and Remote Control Mode using the included infra red LCD remote control unit. Its three “AAA” NiMH rechargeable batteries will provide i-SOBOT with approximately 60 minutes of life when fully charged. The all-singing, all- dancing i-SOBOT comes preassembled and measures 6.5 inches high, 3.8 inches wide, 2.6 inches deep and weighs approximately 12 oz including batteries.

Those wanting to check out i-SOBOT can visit his very own myspace page which unsurprisingly lists Johnny Five from Short Circuit as one of his friends and Al Gore (Envirobot) and Arnold Schwarznegger (Govenatorbot) amongst his heroes.

The i-SOBOT should be on US shelves now with a suggested retail price of US$299, while the pint sized robot is due to start shipping to Japan from July 2008 at an expected 31,290 yen (US$257).

Darren's love of technology started in primary school with a Nintendo Game & Watch Donkey Kong (still functioning) and a Commodore VIC 20 computer (not still functioning). In high school he upgraded to a 286 PC, and he's been following Moore's law ever since. This love of technology continued through a number of university courses and crappy jobs until 2008, when his interests found a home at Gizmag. All articles by Darren Quick